Editing Righteousness (section)

==Indian religions==
There might not be a [[Untranslatability|single-word translation]] for {{transliteration|sa|[[dharma]]}} in English, but it can be translated as righteousness, religion, faith, duty, law, and virtue. Connotations of {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} include rightness, good, natural, morality, righteousness, and virtue. In common parlance, {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} means 'right way of living' and 'path of rightness'. It encompasses ideas such as duty, rights, character, vocation, religion, customs and all behavior considered appropriate, correct or "morally upright". It is explained as a law of righteousness and equated to {{transliteration|sa|[[satya]]}} (truth): "...when a man speaks the Truth, they say, 'He speaks the Dharma'; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, 'He speaks the Truth!' For both are one"<ref>Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.4.xiv</ref>

[[File:Flag of India.svg|thumb|The wheel in the centre of India's flag represents the Dharma Chakra.]]
The importance of {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} to Indian sentiments is illustrated by the government of India's decision in 1947 to include the [[Ashoka Chakra]], a depiction of the {{transliteration|sa|[[dharmachakra]]}} ( the "wheel of dharma"), as the central motif on its flag.

===Hinduism===
{{Verse translation|lang=sa-Latn|yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya tadatmanam srjamy aham|Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bharata,
And there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I Myself come forth|attr1=[[Bhagavad Gita]] Chapter 4: Text 7<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite Q|Q854700|url=https://asitis.com/4/7.html|at=4.7|website=Bhagavad Gita As It Is}}
|2={{cite web|url=http://www.swamivivekanandaquotes.org/2014/05/bhagavad-gita-chapter-4-verse-7-8.html|title=Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 7–8: Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya|website=Swami Vivekananda Quotes|access-date=17 September 2018|archive-date=28 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528161803/https://swamivivekanandaquotes.org/2014/05/bhagavad-gita-chapter-4-verse-7-8.html|url-status=dead}} }}</ref>}}

In [[Hindu philosophy]] and [[Hinduism|religion]], major emphasis is placed on individual practical morality. In the [[Sanskrit epic]]s, this concern is omnipresent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/ew27136.htm |url-status=dead|access-date=27 August 2023 |title=Dharma and Moksa|first=Daniel H.H.|last=Ingalls|year=1957|website=Philosophy East & West|pages=41–48 |archive-date=Feb 21, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010221151403/http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/ew27136.htm}}</ref> Including duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues, and "right way of living".{{Sentence fragment|date=September 2023}} The [[Sanskrit epic]]s contain themes and examples where right prevails over wrong, good over evil.

In an inscription attributed to the Indian Emperor Ashoka from {{BCE|the year 258}}, in Sanskrit, Aramaic, and Greek text, appears a Greek rendering for the Sanskrit word {{transliteration|sa|dharma}}: the word {{transliteration|grc|[[eusebeia]]}} This suggests {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} was a central concept in India at that time, and meant not only religious ideas, but ideas of right, of good, and of one's duty.{{cn|reason=|date=September 2023}}

The ''Ramayana'' is one of the two great Indian epics. It tells about life in India around {{BCE|1000}} and offers models in {{transliteration|sa|dharma}}. The hero, Rama, lived his whole life by the rules of {{transliteration|sa|dharma}}; this is why he is considered heroic. When Rama was a young boy, he was the perfect son. Later, he was an ideal husband to his faithful wife, Sita, and a responsible ruler of Aydohya. Each episode of Ramayana presents life situations and ethical questions in symbolic terms. The situation is debated by the characters, and finally, right prevails over wrong, good over evil. For this reason, in Hindu Epics, the good, morally upright, law-abiding king is referred to as {{transliteration|sa|dharmaraja}}.

In ''[[Mahabharata]]'', the other major Indian epic, similarly, {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} is central, and it is presented with symbolism and metaphors. Near the end of the epic, the god [[Yama]], referred to as {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} in the text, is portrayed as taking the form of a dog to test the compassion of [[Yudhishthira]], who is told he may not enter paradise with such an animal, but who refuses to abandon his companion, for which decision he is then praised by {{transliteration|sa|dharma}}. The value and appeal of the ''Mahabharata'' is not as much in its complex and rushed presentation of metaphysics in the 12th book, claims [[Daniel H. H. Ingalls Sr.|Daniel H.H. Ingalls]], because Indian metaphysics is more eloquently presented in other Sanskrit scriptures.{{cn|reason=|date=September 2023}} The appeal of Mahabharata, like Ramayana, is in its presentation of a series of moral problems and life situations, to which there are usually three answers given, according to Ingalls: one answer is of [[Bhima]], which is the answer of brute force, an individual angle representing materialism, egoism, and self; the second answer is of [[Yudhishthira]], which is always an appeal to piety and gods, of social virtue and tradition; the third answer is of introspective [[Arjuna]], which falls between the two extremes, and who, claims Ingalls, symbolically reveals the finest moral qualities of man.{{cn|reason=|date=September 2023}} The Epics of Hinduism are a symbolic treatise about life, virtues, customs, morals, ethics, law, and other aspects of dharma. There is extensive discussion of {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} at the individual level in the Epics of Hinduism, observes Ingalls; for example, on free will versus destiny, when and why human beings believe in either, ultimately concluding that the strong and prosperous naturally uphold free will, while those facing grief or frustration naturally lean towards destiny.{{cn|reason=|date=September 2023}} The Epics of Hinduism illustrate various aspects of {{transliteration|sa|dharma}}, they are a means of communicating {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} with metaphors.

In [[Hinduism]], {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} signifies behaviors that are considered to be in accord with {{transliteration|sa|[[Ṛta]]}}, the order that makes life and universe possible, and includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues, and "right way of living". The concept of {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} was already in use in the [[historical Vedic religion]], and its meaning and conceptual scope have evolved over several millennia. 

=== Secular ===

The ancient [[Tamil language|Tamil]] moral text of ''[[Tirukkural]]'' is solely based on {{transliteration|ta|[[Aram (Kural book)|aṟam]]}}, the Tamil term for {{transliteration|sa|dharma}}. The [[antonym]] of {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} is {{transliteration|sa|[[adharma]]}}.

=== Buddhism ===
In Buddhism, {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} means cosmic law and order, but is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha. In [[Buddhist philosophy]], {{transliteration|pi|dhamma}}/{{transliteration|sa|dharma}} is also the term for "[[phenomena]]". Dharma refers not only to the sayings of the Buddha, but also to the later traditions of interpretation and addition that the various [[schools of Buddhism]] have developed to help explain and to expand upon the Buddha's teachings. For others still, they see the {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} as referring to the "truth", or the ultimate reality of "the way that things really are" ({{bo|t=ཆོས|s=chö}}).{{Relevance inline|reason=This is about "dharma" but has mostly stopped being about "righteousness" which is the page topic; Buddhism also talks about righteousness in e.g. the Noble Eightfold Path, so why not discuss that instead?|date=September 2023}}

===Jainism===
[[Tattvartha Sutra]] mentions {{transliteration|sa|[[Dharma (Jainism)|Das-dharma]]}} with the meaning of "righteous". These are forbearance, modesty, straightforwardness, purity, truthfulness, self-restraint, austerity, renunciation, non-attachment, and celibacy.

{{quote|A right believer should constantly meditate on virtues of {{transliteration|sa|dharma}}, like supreme modesty, in order to protect the soul from all contrary dispositions. He should also cover up the shortcomings of others.|''Puruṣārthasiddhyupāya'' (27)}}

===Sikhism===
For Sikhs, the word {{transliteration|pa|Dharm}} means the path of righteousness and proper religious practice. For [[Sikh]]s, the word {{transliteration|pa|dharam}} ([[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: {{lang|pa|ਧਰਮ}}, {{transliteration|pa|dharam}}) means the path of righteousness and proper religious practice. [[Guru Granth Sahib]] in hymn 1353 connotes {{transliteration|pa|dharam}} as duty. The [[3HO]] movement in Western culture, which has incorporated certain Sikh beliefs, defines Sikh {{transliteration|pa|dharam}} broadly as all that constitutes religion, moral duty, and way of life.